The Complete Guide to Winning Poker

♠ THE COMPLETE ♥

GUIDE ♣ TO WINNING ♦ POKER

THE COMPLETE

GUIDE TO WINNING POKER

by Albert H. Morehead

A FIRESIDE BOOK

Published by Simon & Schuster

New York  London  Toronto  Sydney

COPYRIGHT © 1967 BY LOY MOREHEAD

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

INCLUDING THE RIGHT OF REPRODUCTION

IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN ANY FORM

A FIRESIDE BOOK

PUBLISHED BY SIMON & SCHUSTER, INC.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER, 1230 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS

FIRESIDE AND COLOPHON ARE REGISTERED TRADEMARKS

OF SIMON & SCHUSTER, INC.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

FIRST PAPERBACK EDITION 1973

ISBN 0-671-21646-5

ISBN: 978-0-671-21646-7

eISBN: 978-1-439-13506-8

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER 67-16727

DESIGNED BY LARRY KAMP

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. About the Game of Poker

2. How to Run a Poker Game

3. What Every Poker Player

Must Know

4. How to Play High Poker

5. How to Play Low Poker

6. High-Low Poker

7. Dealer’s Choice Games and

How to Play Them

8. Poker Probabilities

9. The Mathematical Theory of Games

and Its Application to Poker

APPENDIX

The Evolution of Poker

The Laws of Poker

GLOSSARY

INDEX

INTRODUCTION

POKER HAS BEEN CALLED the American national game. Actually, poker comes as close to being international as any card game possibly could. It probably originated in Persia; it developed in Europe; it did attain its present form in the United States—probably in the 1830s—but today it is played in every country where playing cards are known. Nevertheless, since the world considers poker to be the national game of the United States, every American—if only from patriotic pride—should know how to play an acceptable game of poker.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLE

No one knows surely where poker originated, when it originated, or how it got its name. The basic principle of poker is that the most unusual combination of cards is the winning hand. This is such an obvious basis for a game that there may have been ancestors of poker stretching back to the year 894 A.D., when playing cards were invented (by the Chinese). At least 400 years ago the Persians had a game called As Nas in which there was a 20-card deck, four players, five cards dealt to each, and wagers on which player had the best hand. Since no cards were left over, there could be no draw; and the idea of stud poker had not yet been thought of. As early as the 1600s the Germans had a game they called pochen, their word for bluff or brag, and from this game developed the early English game Brag and the French game Poque. It cannot be proved, but it is irresistibly plausible, that our name, poker, derived from the French Poque.

Until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. New Orleans and the entire Mississippi River valley were French territory. The people spoke French, and if they played card games they played French card games. After the Louisiana Purchase, thousands of English-speaking citizens of the new United States poured into the territory and took over the city of New Orleans and the Mississippi Valley, but they could not help being influenced by the French customs and terms. So they adopted the French game Poque but changed its name to the familiar English word poker. That, at least, is the logical assumption: and while no one can prove it, all poker historians have accepted it.

We are all familiar with the prototype (and stereotype) of the Mississippi River steamboat game which was introduced in the 1830s and flourished at least until the Civil War. The rules were simple. Each player was dealt five cards face down, and after the deal everyone could bet on whether or not he had the best hand. There was no limit, and either of two customs governed the betting (it is hard, here, to differentiate between fact and legend): A man could bet anything he wanted to, and his opponent, according to some stories, could always call (have a sight) for as much money as he had with him; or, according to other versions, his opponent was always given 24 hours to raise the money required to call.

The entire history of poker since that time is the history of repeated efforts to pep up the game, to encourage players to stay in and bet. Mathematically, a man playing straight poker (no draw) in a two-handed game should bet against his one opponent if he has some such hand as a pair of fives. Psychologically, it doesn’t work out that way. The hand just doesn’t look good enough. So, first the element of the draw was added, giving a venturesome player the hope of improving when he wasn’t dealt a good hand originally; then a few extra winning hands, such as the straight, were added; then the ante was added, so that there would always be something in the pot for a player to shoot for; then came wild cards, and then stud poker. Next came freak games of all kinds, and now it has reached a point at which there are probably thousands of different games called poker.

These games are all related, yet no two are exactly alike. Therefore, you can make few general statements that apply to all games; in fact, you can make few general statements that apply to even two or three forms of poker.

WHY POKER IS SO POPULAR

Poker became the national card game of the United States because it so well suits the American temperament. It is a game for the individual. Each player is on his own, the master of his fate.

There are other reasons why poker is such a timeless favorite. It fits any situation, whether it is a serious game among experts or a hilarious game for the entertainment of family and friends who just want to have a good time. Almost any number of persons can play in the same game. Poker is easy to learn, and once learned is never forgotten. And the cost of the equipment is inconsiderable; there is no more economical form of recreation than card-playing.

Public opinion polls have shown in recent years that poker, despite the almost universal popularity it already enjoyed, has been growing in favor more rapidly than any other game. More persons are playing poker, and are playing it more often, than ever before.

Every American should understand poker. Nearly every American does understand poker, or wants to. And it is part of the charm of poker that it is so easy to understand.

POKER IS A GAME OF SKILL

Since its earliest days, people have made the mistake of considering poker a gambling game. It seems to be a gambling game because it is usually played for money, and in fact it is not a good game if there are no stakes. Nevertheless, poker is farther from a gambling game than almost any other card game you can think of, even contract bridge. Despite the fact that there are innumerable forms of poker and that the strategy differs in all of them, good players will almost always wind up winners, and poor players, losers. As these pages unfold I will give many bits of advice on how to be a skillful and winning player rather than a losing one, but I can sum up the whole principle with my first bit of advice, which is as follows:

If you aren’t beating the game, you are being outplayed. There is a reason why you lose, even if you can’t figure it out.

Mathematically, all things are possible. Out of a hundred thousand players, there will be two or three good players who consistently hold bad cards and lose when they should win, and there will be two or three poor players (to balance them) who consistently hold good cards and win when they should lose. It is a form of self-deceit, and flying in the face of probabilities, to think that you are one of the unlucky few if you are losing when you think you should be winning. For nearly all players, the cards even up in the long run. They do not come out exactly even that would be as unusual, over the course of a lifetime, as for a player always to have ten per cent the better of it-but they come close to even. Most players will hold somewhere between 48 per cent and 52 per cent of all the good cards they are entitled to. That creates a range of four per cent. The minimum advantage of the good poker player over the poor player is ten per cent, and in a game where there is a wide disparity—as when one very good player plays with palookas—the advantage can be 25 per cent or more. Therefore, a consistently bad card-holder (who gets only 48 per cent of the good cards) will still have enough percentage to be a winner. If he is a poor card-holder he may win a little less than he should, and if he is a good card-holder he may win a little more, but he will still win.

The conclusion is this: When you have read this book, and put its precepts into practice, and when you are convinced that you are playing the game as well as possible, then, if you still lose, your only recourse is to find a different game to play in—one in which the other players are not quite so good.

ABOUT

THE GAME

OF

POKER

THIS BOOK IS DESIGNED for all classes of poker players, from neophyte to expert. In order to bring the beginner up to date, I will present a brief outline of how poker is played. The inexperienced player should consult the Appendix (The Laws of Poker) after reading this section, and familiarize himself with rules and procedures. A thorough knowledge of the laws is essential both for the serious player who wishes to be successful and the casual player who wishes to avoid social embarrassment. All but the most hardened poker addicts are urged to review the structure of poker and solidify their understanding of how the game is played.

HOW POKER IS PLAYED

While poker is played in innumerable forms, it is really necessary to understand only two basic points:

The values of poker hands.

The principles of betting.

A player who understands these can play without difficulty in any type of poker game.

OBJECT OF THE GAME

In poker, everyone plays for himself (in fact, partnerships of any sort are strictly forbidden by the laws) and the object of each player is to win the pot. The pot is the accumulation of all bets made by all players in any one deal. Every chip a player puts in the pot means he bets so much that he has or will have the best poker hand around the table. After the betting is over, the hands are shown (called the showdown) and the best poker hand wins the pot.

THE POKER HANDS

A poker hand consists of five cards.* The value of a hand depends on whether it contains one of the following combinations:

Royal flush, the highest possible hand: the five highest cards (ace, king, queen, jack, ten) in any one suit.

Straight flush: all five cards of the same suit, in sequence, as, the 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 of diamonds.

Four-of-a-kind ranks next under a straight flush; as, four aces, or four sixes. It does not matter what the fifth, unmatched, card is.

A full house is three cards of one rank and two cards of another rank, as 8-8-8-4-4. Such hands rank next under four-of-a-kind.

A flush is five cards of the same suit, but not all in sequence, and ranks next below a full house.

A straight is five cards in sequence, as 5-6-7-8-9, but not all of the same suit. It loses to a flush or higher hand, but beats anything else.

Three-of-a-kind ranks next under a straight.

Two pairs, as Q-Q-7-7-4, rank next under three-of-a-kind.

*

This, of course, refers to the basic and simple forms of the game, draw poker and five-card stud.

One pair beats any hand containing no pair but none of the higher-ranking combinations named above.

And below the rank of hands containing one pair are all the no-pair hands, which are rated by the highest card they contain, so that an ace-high hand will beat a king-high hand, and so on. If the highest cards of two hands are equal in rank, the next highest cards (and so on down the line) determine the rank of the hand. Thus, A-K-6-4-3 outranks A-Q-J-9-8.

The first thing a beginning player should do is to learn and remember these combinations and their relative values. For, in poker, one hopes to hold a higher-ranking hand than anyone else, and one bets on his hand if he thinks it is the best, or throws it away if he thinks someone else has him beaten.

The ranking of poker hands, given above, is not arbitrary. The less likely you are, mathematically, to receive a certain hand, the higher it ranks and the more likely it is to win if you do get it. For example, you should expect to be dealt a straight flush only once in 65,000 hands; but you should be dealt two pairs once in every 21 hands, and you should have at least a pair once in each two hands you hold.

THE BETTING

In the course of each poker deal there will be one or more betting intervals.

Before the cards are even dealt, the rules of the particular poker game being played may require that each player put an initial contribution (called an ante) of one or more chips into the pot, to start it off.

Each betting interval begins when any player in turn makes a bet of one or more chips. Each player in turn after him must either call that bet (by putting into the pot the same number of chips); or may raise, which means that he puts in more than enough chips to call; or he may drop, which means that he puts no chips in the pot, discards his hand, and is out of the betting until there is another deal and he receives a new hand.

When a player drops, he loses all chips he has previously put into that pot. Unless a player is willing to put into the pot at least as many chips as any player before him has put in, he must drop.

A betting interval ends when the bets have been equalized—that is, when each player has put into the pot exactly as many chips as each other player, or has dropped. There are usually two or more betting intervals for each poker deal. After the final interval, each player who has met all the bets shows his hand face up on the table, and the best hand takes the pot.

If at any time a player makes a bet or raise that no other player calls, that player wins the pot without showing his hand.

Check is a poker term that means the player wishes to remain in the pot without betting. In effect, it is a bet of nothing. A player may check provided no one before him in that betting interval has made any bet. If any other player has bet, he must at least call the bet, or drop. If all players check, the betting interval is over.

In each betting interval one player is designated as the first bettor, according to the rules of the game. The turn to bet moves clockwise (from player to player to the left), and no one may check, bet, or even drop, except when his turn comes.

THE TWO MAIN TYPES OF POKER

It is best for the beginner to learn one type of poker first, then the other variants, one by one. The main types of poker are two: draw poker and stud poker. In draw poker, all cards are dealt face down. In stud poker, a player receives one or more cards face down and his other cards face up. (This does not clearly determine his hand for the other players; for suppose a player has two queens, a six and a four, face up, and one card face down. Without knowing what his face-down card is, you cannot tell how good his hand is. If it is a queen, it gives him three queens; if it is a six or a four, it gives him two pairs; if it is any other card, he has only a pair of queens.)

In draw poker, each player is dealt five cards. Then there is a betting interval. After this, each active player may discard any of his cards and the dealer gives him other cards to replace them (called the draw). There is then a second betting interval, after which there is a showdown among the active players, and the highest hand takes the pot.

In stud poker, each player is dealt one card face down, called his hole card, then one card face up. There is then a betting interval, after which each active player is dealt another face-up card. Another betting interval, another round of face-up cards; another betting interval, and a final round of face-up cards. Each round of new cards is dealt only to players who have not dropped. Each of these players now has a full five-card poker hand, with one card face down and the other four face up. There is a final betting interval, and then a showdown in which each active player turns up his hole card and the highest hand takes the pot.

PRELIMINARIES TO THE POKER GAME

Type of game to be played. The players should first decide (unless the host or club has established the custom) what game is to be played—for example, draw poker with an occasional round of stud; or whatever else best suits the majority. The decision, made, should not be changed except by unanimous consent. The number of players affects the choice of game. For example, ten players could readily play five-card stud, but seven-card stud (a variation in which each player receives seven cards) would be almost impossible and draw poker would be unwise.

Laws. A code of poker laws should be adopted and should be final for settling all questions. No poker laws are universally followed, there being many local customs and preferences; but the laws in this book have been prepared to suit the widest possible following and are recommended for adoption. Any exceptions made to these (house rules) should be written down in advance and posted or put in the book.

Time limit. Before play begins, the players should set a time limit and stick to it. Violation of this principle may eventually break up the game, or turn pleasant sessions into unpleasant ones.

The kitty. By unanimous agreement the players may establish a special pool, to defray the cost of playing space, equipment, refreshments, or any other expense incidental to the game.

Penalties for infractions of rules, when payable in chips, are paid to this kitty; and, if such payments are insufficient, one white chip may be cut from each pot and placed in the kitty. A maximum limit should be put on the kitty, with no other payments made to it after this maximum is reached.

No player owns a proportionate share of the kitty unless, at the time the game breaks up, there is a surplus after allowance for all expenses. Any such surplus is divided among players who are still present and who are in the game at the time the kitty reaches its maximum amount and payments to it are suspended.

Ethics. Approved poker ethics, in various groups, range from the hard-boiled code in which anything short of cheating is permissible, to the strict standard that is traditional in such games as bridge. A survey of alternative customs in this respect is given later in this book. Players should agree on the customs they will follow, and so mark the book that there can be no misunderstandings later.

Cards. The ordinary pack of 52 is used, with the cards in each suit ranking: A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There is no rank of suits.

Wild cards. Any card or cards may be designated, by unanimous agreement, as wild. The holder of a wild card may designate any other card for which the wild card will stand: when deuces are wild, the holder of ♣ 2 ♡ Q 9 7 4 may designate the ♣ 2 as ♡ A.

The joker. It is quite usual to play with a 53-card pack including the joker, which is wild.

The bug. The joker in a 53-card pack is often called the bug. The bug is a wild card with limitations: It may be counted as an ace, and it may be counted as a card of any suit or rank necessary to make a flush or straight. In special forms of poker (to be described later) the bug may take on other functions.

Natural and wild cards. It is optional to rule that as between two hands that would otherwise tie, the one containing the fewer wild cards is the higher-ranking poker hand. (This means that in competition for low hand, as in high-low poker, such a hand would lose; in competition for high, it would win.) The question of naturals vs. wild cards must be decided by agreement before the game, unless covered by house rules. In the absence of such agreement or rule, naturals and wild cards count the same.

Five-of-a-kind. When there are one or more wild cards, the highest-ranking poker hand is five cards of the same rank or so designated. Such a hand ranks higher than a royal flush.

Chips. Seven or more players should have a supply of at least 200 chips—usually, 100 whites, 50 reds and 50 blues. The white chip is the unit, one red being worth five whites and one blue being worth ten whites or two reds. (These proportions may be, and often are, varied to suit the convenience of the players.)

Banker. One player must be designated as banker, to keep the stock of chips and the record of how many have been issued to each player. Players should have no private transactions or exchanges among themselves; a player with surplus chips may return them to the banker and receive credit for them, while a player requiring more chips should obtain them only from the banker.

Betting limits. There are different ways of fixing a betting limit. Some limit is conceded to be necessary. Once fixed, the limit should be unalterable throughout the game. The limit may be any of the following popular ones:

1. Fixed limit. No one may bet or raise by more than a stipulated number of chips; for example, two or five or ten. Usually, this limit varies with the stage of the game: In draw poker, if the limit is two chips before the draw, it is usually four after the draw. In stud poker, if the limit is one in the first three betting intervals, it is two in the final betting interval (and, often, two whenever a player has a pair showing).

2. Pot limit. The limit for any bet or raise is the number of chips in the pot at the time the bet or raise is made. (This means that a player who raises may count as part of the pot the number of chips required for him to call. If there are six chips in the pot and then a bet of four is made, the total is ten chips; it requires four chips for the next player to call, making 14; and he may then raise by 14 chips.) When pot limit is played, there should still be some maximum limit, such as 50 chips.

3. Table stakes. This, and especially table stakes with pot limit (i.e., table stakes with betting also restricted by the amount in the pot, as above) has become one of the most popular forms of fixing a limit. The limit for each player is the number of chips he has in front of him: If he has only ten chips, he may bet no more than ten, and he may call any other player’s bet only to that extent. No player may withdraw any chips from the table (except if the game agrees otherwise), or return them to the banker, until he leaves the game. A player may add to his stack, but only between the showdown (or the time that he drops) in one pot and the beginning of the next deal.

The custom of table stakes, in which a player may call a sight (that is, stay in for the showdown) for all the chips he has, produces occasional side pots (see diagram).

FOR EXAMPLE: A has 40 chips, B 80, C 150, D 200. A bets 20; B calls; C raises 50. This bet taps A (requires him to put up all his chips to call). C puts only 40 chips in the pot, 20 to call, 20 to raise; the 30 chips which represent the remainder of his raise go into a side pot. D calls, putting 40 chips in the main pot and 30 in the side pot. A calls, putting his remaining 20 chips in the main pot. Now A can stay through to the showdown, regardless of the additional bets of other players, and if he has the highest hand he will win the main pot. B calls, putting 20 chips in the main pot and 30 in the side pot. In the next betting interval, A is not concerned. B checks and C bets 50, tapping B. Of C’s 50 chips, 10 go into the first side pot and 40 begin a second side pot. D calls, putting 10 in the first side pot and 40 in the second. B calls for 10, closing the first side pot. At the showdown, the highest of the four hands will win the main pot; the highest hand as among B, C and D will win the first side pot; the higher hand as between C and D will win the second side pot.

But when a player drops he loses interest in all side pots. Suppose, in the example just given, there is still another betting interval, in which C bets 30 chips and D drops. By dropping, D loses his interest in the main pot and the first side pot as well as in the second side pot; for he has conceded that C has a better hand, and therefore C succeeds to D’s rights in all pots.

Limits on raises. It is common to limit the number of raises any one player may make to three (in some circles, two) in each betting interval. Almost equally common is to have a limit of three raises—no matter by whom—in any one betting interval. (This type of limit is most often applied in high-low poker.)

IRREGULARITIES

The laws of poker are not designed to prevent cheating, for which there is no remedy except to refuse to play with the guilty party. The purpose of the laws and penalties for infractions thereof is to protect innocent players from loss because of irregularities committed by other players because of carelessness or overanxiety to win. Poker has suffered as a club game because standard penalties were not adopted and followed. with good grace, as they are in bridge. Adoption of standard laws should reduce arguments, prevent ill-feeling, and thereby make the game more pleasant.

HOW TO BECOME A GOOD POKER PLAYER

The first step is to learn the values of the poker hands and to study the principles of betting until you are sure you understand them thoroughly.

Then deal out hands, face up—the hands of six or seven players, as they would be dealt in a game. Notice the poker combinations. Decide what you would discard and how many cards you would draw if you were playing draw poker. Observe how many poor hands and how many good hands show up; this will give you an idea